ICANN Releases Draft Accreditation Guidelines for Domain-Name [...]


ICANN Releases Draft Accreditation Guidelines for Domain-Name Registrars - Proposal to be Available for Public Comment at www.icann.org


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Los Angeles-In a first step towards establishing fair and consistentguidelines and procedures that will increase competition and global participationin domain-name registration services, the non-profit Internet Corporationfor Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) today is releasing for public commenta draft proposal for the accreditation of Internet domain-name registrars. The draft includes criteria for selecting the five registrars who willtest the system for a two-month period beginning at the end of April.

The proposed accreditation guidelines, comprising nearly 30 pages ofdetailed analysis and proposed standards, will be published on ICANN'sWeb site (www.icann.org) today for public comment and suggestions. The final version of the guidelines will provide requirements for accreditationof domain-name registrars in the .com, .org and .net top-level domains(TLDs).  Following public comment submitted in response to today'sposting, and comment and discussion at an open meeting in Singapore onMarch 3, 1999, ICANN's initial board will consider adoption of the proposedguidelines or a revised version.

"We are pleased to have the opportunity to work with the Internet communityto create a stable but competitive market for domain-name registrationservices in these three important domains," commented Esther Dyson, interimchairman of the ICANN board.  "One of the major reasons for the creationof ICANN was to foster fair and open ground rules in the domain-name system,and we are now approaching a major milestone in achieving that goal. We aim to design a system that promotes the stability of the Internet andis capable of evolving in the future."

The immediate development and adoption of accreditation guidelines isnecessary to implement an agreement by Network Solutions Inc. (NSI) todevelop a system that allows multiple registrars to register names in the.com, .net, and .org TLDs in competition with NSI.  Since 1993, NSIhas been the sole provider of direct domain-name registration servicesin these TLDs as part of a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Government. In the interests of opening the process to robust competition, a recentamendment to the cooperative agreement paved the way for other companiesto register unique second-level domain names on behalf of their customersin the NSI-maintained TLD database (the "registry").

NSI initially will open the database to five registrars as part of atest phase in which the shared registration system will be launched, evaluatedand improved.  Rather than participating in the test as one of thefive registrars, NSI will continue its existing registrar operations duringthe test phase.  After completion of the test, NSI will be requiredto provide equal access to registry services through the shared registrationsystem to all accredited registrars (including itself) at prices to beagreed upon by the U.S. Government and NSI under the terms of the cooperativeagreement.  The price charged by NSI for registry services will bebased on NSI's costs, plus a reasonable return on its investment.

Key elements of the proposed guidelines on which ICANN is solicitingcomments include minimum technical, operational and financial criteriafor entering the registration business; requirements for portability ofdomain names among registration companies; protections against fraud andinfringement of intellectual property rights; data security, privacy, andprotection; and special technical requirements to protect the stabilityand operational integrity of the Internet.  ICANN is seeking publiccomment on these proposed criteria, as well as on a proposed fee structurebased on an initial accreditation fee and an ongoing charges on regisrationvolume.

Because testbed participants will be required to provide enhanced technicaland engineering support to interface with NSI during the testing phase,the proposal specifies additional criteria for selection of the five testbedregistrars.  The early accreditation of these registrars for the testperiod is not intended or expected to give them any competitive advantage. Indeed, they will be required to devote significant time, expertise, andresources to ensure the success of the testing process, and they must beprepared to publish operational information as part of the test evaluation.

"Much of the material in these proposed guidelines reflects planningand analysis done by others in recent years," said Michael Roberts, ICANNinterim CEO and head of the proposal drafting effort.  "We've pulledthat thinking together, updated it to reflect the agreement between ICANNand the government, and tailored it to the needs of NSI's agreement withthe U.S. Government for the introduction of competition in the .com, .organd .net domains.  ICANN thanks all those who contributed."

As with any other change in Internet management, the introduction ofthe guidelines will be controversial. "We recognize that implementing changesin the domain-name system will be a contentious issue," said Interim ChairmanDyson.  "The point is to make the transition fair, and the resultsfair.  As long as everyone knows the rules and can play on the sameterms, we will have achieved that.  As the initial board considerscomments on the guidelines, we will work hard with the Internet communityto develop guidelines that strike everyone as reasonable, sound, and transparent."

Along with the draft guidelines, ICANN also is posting several otherpolicy drafts and documents on which it is seeking public comment-includinga draft conflict of interest policy, a draft reconsideration policy, andapplications received from entities seeking recognition as ICANN SupportingOrganizations.

About ICANN:    The Internet Corporation for AssignedNames and Numbers (ICANN) is a new, private, non-profit, internationalcorporation formed by the global Internet community to assume responsibilityfor managing Internet technical coordinating functions including domain-namesystem (DNS) management, IP address block allocation, the coordinationof the assignment of technical protocol parameters, and root server systemmanagement, now performed by, or on behalf of, the U.S. Government.

ICANN was created by the global Internet community in response to "Managementof Internet Names and Addresses," a U.S. Government statement of policyissued in June 1998, that invited the global Internet community to forma new, private sector organization to undertake management of Internetdomain-name system functions.  In November 1998, ICANN entered intoan agreement with the U.S.  Government to design and develop the methodsand procedures that should be in place to transition DNS management responsibilityto the private sector from the government.  It is expected that thistransition will be completed by September 2000.

ICANN's initial board is led by interim chairman Esther Dyson, and hasmembers from six nations.  This initial board, with assistance fromstaff and several committees, is working to pave the way for a smooth andstable transition to private sector management of technical managementfunctions.  The day-to-day management of ICANN is led by its interimPresident and CEO, Mike Roberts.  The initial board members will besucceeded by board members elected by four different constituency groups,collectively representing a broad range of the Internet's technical anduser communities around the globe.
 
 
ICANN Contacts:

Esther Dyson
Interim Chairman
+1 (212) 924-8800
edyson@icann.org

Michael M. Roberts
Interim President and CEO
+1 (650) 854-2108
roberts@icann.org
 
Sean Garrett
Alexander Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide
+1 (415) 923-1660
sgarrett@alexanderogilvy.com

Europe:
Patrick Worms
Vice President, Technology Communications
Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide, Brussels
(+32-2) 545 6609
patrick.worms@ogilvy.be

Asia:
Patricia Ratulangi
Senior Associate, Technology Practice
Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide, Singapore
Tel 65 2779563
patricia.ratulangi@ogilvy.com
 
 
 


Reads: 1827 | Category: Domain Names | Source: ICANN : Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers
URL source: http://www.icann.org/announcements/icann-pr08feb99.htm
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